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Battle of Sal Maro
The Battle of Sal Maro was an important large scale battle during the Unification War that had many repercussions throughout the Galaxy. Causes Ever since the end of the Galaxial War and the purge of the Jedi by the Galactic Alliance, Sal Maro had been at odds with Coruscant for protecting the Jedi. At first, nothing was done and the issue was ignored. Once Chief of State Marquis O'Dore was completely manipulated and twisted by Siron, it was only a matter of time before Sal Maro was targeted. Because of Siron's desire to destroy all other Force users, he knew that hitting Sal Maro was inevitable. Through his efforts, several other Force using groups and individuals were destroyed and he managed to seduce many to his cause within the Galactic Alliance. He even had Marquis make a separate peace treaty with the Order of Sovereignty to ensure their neutrality. After the Battle of Dathomir, he was ready to strike at the Jedi. To do this, he used his puppet, Marquis, to issue a demand to Sal Maro to turn over all Jedi on the planet within one week or face consequences. The government of Sal Maro deliberated for two days before rejecting the demands and choosing to support the Jedi. With his bluff called, Marquis and the Galactic Alliance had no choice but to carry through with their threat or seem incompetent and weak. First Wave Participants Since the attack came with a week's notice, the Sal Maroians did not have to fight alone. A small Hapan fleet under Elric de Odin joined the fight as did a Nymean fleet under Admiral Veran and Eliana. Though they brought several ships and the Sal Maroians under Colonel Seth Gul had a strong fleet of their own, they were no match for what Siron sent. In all, the defensive force had 23 capital ships and 51 frigates. In addition, they had several Golan II defense platforms and a double layer of planetary shields. The Galactic Alliance fleet was under the command of Admiral Delfour and numbered 60 capital ships and 450 frigates. With them were two Torpedo Spheres to take down Sal Maro's double shields. Opening Attack Instead of deploying the entire fleet at once and risking friendly fire or clustered damage, Delfour only sent in a third of the fleet and none of the Torpedo Spheres. This fleet was to destroy or disable the Golan Platforms and destabilize the defending fleet. When they arrived in system, they found the Nymean fleet also supporting the planet, but the Hapan fleet had not yet come out of hyperspace. Opening salvos were exchanged between several Golan platforms and Stealth X's which managed to surprise them and fire a barrage on their unshielded hulls. After the initial salvo, they brought up their shields and engaged as best they could. The GA capital ships made assaults on some of them and the fighters destroyed others. When the Hapan fleet arrived, they managed to fire experimental weapon that destroyed several GA ships. While the weapon was recharging, the GA managed to pounce on the fleet and inflicted heavy casualties. Withdraw After thirty minutes of heavy fighting, Delfour recalled his fleet and prepared them to join the main part of the fleet in the final assault. The defenders, not realizing that the battle was not over, began to collect survivors from destroyed or heavily damaged ships. They were not prepared for the second wave that came shortly after. Second Wave Participants Much of the defending fleet was damaged by the first wave. The Hapans had lost most of their fleet, the Sal Maroians had lost about a third of theirs including all the Golan platforms. The Nymeans lost roughly a third of their fleet as well. While they had managed to destroy more than they lost, the GA had only sent a third of their total power and were now sending the rest with the Torpedo Spheres. With both commanding officers disabled or killed, the Nymean fleet fell under the command of a Major who did not have the authority to continue the battle that clearly could not be won. He withdrew the Nymean fleet at the onset of the second wave. The Galactic Alliance now had roughly 55 capital ships and 380 frigates plus two Torpedo Spheres in the system and were ready to destroy the planetary shields and the rest of the fleet. Defection The first twenty minutes of the second wave saw heavy losses for the defenders, especially within the Sal Maroian fleet. In their desperate attempt to destroy the Torpedo Spheres, they sacrificed half their remaining fleet. The GA fleet was spread between pummeling the planetary shields and attacking the defending ships and were able to inflict tremendous damage on both. After twenty minutes had passed, the tide was turned. Disgusted with the abuse of power and galled with the idea of fighting their allies, many planets had withdrawn from the GA or declared their support for Sal Maro. When this happened, most of the captains and crews from those planets withdrew from the fleet. Those at Sal Maro switched sides and attacked the GA fleet. When they changed sides, the once orderly battle became a chaotic free-for-all. Not all on the ships that rebelled were happy and some resisted. On some, there were YVH droids and Dark Sun Riders who remained loyal to the GA. They fought back and caused damage to the defecting ships and killed crewmen. The defecting ships were able to surprise many loyalist ships and did damage, but were also in poor position to offer aid. They were not in formation and many were dealing with internal struggles from loyalists on board. Still, they managed to turn the battle's tide and destroy the GA's battle plan. One of the Torpedo Spheres was destroyed when the Luscent rammed it. The other was damaged in attacks by capital ships. The damage lowered its shields long enough for Colonel Seth Gul to infiltrate it and inflict some internal damage before being captured as the Sphere retreated. Admiral Dalfour received orders from Supreme Commander Dalon to retreat to Coruscant so they could regroup and deal with the new rebel threat. The Dark Sun Riders received orders from Siron to join them and prepare for another plot. The surviving Sal Maroian and Hapan fleets were left with their new allies to tend to the hundreds of thousands of casualties. Aftermath All involved took heavy casualties. Even the surface of Sal Maro had suffered under bombardment that made it through gaps in the shields. Hundreds of thousands died and more were wounded on both sides. The Galactic Alliance took heavier casualties due to the defection thinning their ranks, but percentage wise, the defenders were hurt far more. As result of the defection and the battle, the planets that defected and rebelled against the GA banned together to form the Common Welfare Confederacy. A few weeks later, Siron killed Chief of State Marquis and took over direct control of the Galactic Alliance. Targ Seth Gul was captured and eventually warped and manipulated by Eliana to betray Sal Maro and bring about the Subjugation of Sal Maro. The Nymean Ascendancy was left on its own by the Order of Sovereignty and declared independence and attempted neutrality with the GA. Category: Unification War